Tag: motley crue

This album actually came out in 2008 and was the last proper studio album they released. Sure, there have been live albums and such but that’s sixteen years between albums. These guys are just milking the audience by retiring and coming back playing the same old songs again and again. The only one of the four I have time for is Mick Mars, the others… not so much.

Anyway, it’s about the music right? Hmmmm…! This album doesn’t really feel like a Crüe record as there are a lot of outside influences, namely DJ Ashba and James Michael who get a credit on nearly every song, so it has a modern vibe to it (well, for sixteen years ago anyway). Face Down In The Dirt and Animal In Me are good songs but it’s all a bit average really and it sounds as though they have forgotten how to be Motley Crue.

I’m interested to see what John 5 brings to the band as he is a great player.

7/10 from The Grooveman.

I’m not a big fan of counterfeit albums because they take money away from bands and they usually are rips from CD’s. I bit the bullet on this one as there isn’t a hope in hell that this will officially be released, as Motley Crüe would like you all to forget that this version of the band ever existed.

As usual, I go against the grain here. I think this is the best album the band did. Yup, I know there is no big dumb sing-a-long single and it’s not that commercial sounding, but musically this is a banger of an album. The album was released in ’94 and the musical landscape had changed somewhat. This is the only album to feature John Corabi, and his voice really suits the harder edged sound of this record.

Opening track Power To The Music is a beast of a tune with a killer riff and groove, and Corabi just kills it. Uncle Jack is a very heavy sounding dark tune and the melody is still there (not in the obvious places), and that slowed down groove at the end is freakin’ awesome. Hooligans Holiday is up there with one of the best tracks the band ever did. This was what the NEW Crüe was all about; dirty, mean, and almost southern in places mainly due to the slide, the groove is killer. Misunderstood is the band’s Beatles moment where they dig into their inner Sgt Pepper, that is until the beast of a riff kicks in then the whole tune takes on a different vibe.

The southern vibe returns with Loveshine where the main acoustic feels like something from Zeppelin 4. Poison Apples is pure LA strut played much lower and heavier, and the sleaze just shines though. Tommy’s drum sound is killer on this track. Hammered is up next and I really love the heavy blues groove, it’s as far from Motley Crüe as possible. It’s favourite track time with Til Death Do Us Part, which at one point was the title of the album. A monster track with an epic feel and it sounds like nothing they had done before. Quite a slow groove with basic chords, but the arrangement is killer.

The sleaze returns with Welcome To The Numb, and this could have been on any Aerosmith album. Great tune! A huge monster riff opens up Smoke In The Sky, a full on pedal to the metal rocker. Droppin’ Like Flies is a killer mid-tempo groover with a great feel, that Aerosmith vibe is there again and the ending is so cool. The album closes out with Driftaway and its power ballad time. I can forgive the one ballad when the album is this good.

As you know, this album never sold as well as expected. Crüe are all about the money, so it was goodbye John and welcome back Vince. Shame, as I really like the way they sound with this line up.

9/10 from The Grooveman.

When is the end not the end?  They have been peddling this around for way too long. I guess someone needed another alimony payment or had a lawsuit to pay. The tour that’s going around North America this summer has been doing great business and was some spectacle, but Posion blew both of the headliners off stage every night.

We get a nice coloured pink marble vinyl, and the songs are near enough the same set they have been playing for a while now, Opening up with Girls Girls Girls. I’m not sure if Vince has touched his vocals up after the event, but he does sound better on here than he does now. All the hits are here, plus all the songs you know, so it turns out to be a pretty cool Greatest Hits package.

My favourite Crüe song ever is Live Wire, but on this set my favourite is Shout At The Devil – it’s sounds quite shambolic and I love Mick Mars guitar sound. I guess you either love ‘em or hate ’em. I usually sit in the hate ’em side, mainly due to the crap that surrounds them, but I admit that this is quite a fun listen.

8.5/10 from The Grooveman.

Ok, I’ll just put this out there…I hate this band on a personal level. I think all of them, apart from Mick Mars, are just attention seeking children – and not in a nice way. They have made a career out of being obnoxious and doing anything that would get them press. If it was not for Mick Mars, they would be nobodies. It’s Mick’s riffs and talent that got them where they are. Musically, they stole everything from a band called The Sweet. Check out Give Us A Wink to see what I mean.

So putting all that to one side, this album IMHO (along with Dr. Feelgood), is the band’s best effort – and again, that’s down to Mick Mars. The main riff to the title track and Looks That Kill are what drives the songs along – in fact, nearly all the songs here are lifted by the riffs and groove. Vince’s vocals are not great, but I guess they fit the vibe that the band were aiming for. The cover of Helter Skelter by the Beatles is probably the weakest song on the album, and it doesn’t add anything to the original. Red Hot is the Live Wire of this album and does rock hard, and other than the title track, this is the best on the album.

I know people love them and that’s fine, but I just have a hard time with them, and it’s for the none musical reasons mentioned. So I guess if you don’t own a Crüe album and you think you need one in your collection, then this is as good a place as any to start.

8/10 from The Grooveman.